Green-Tradewater River Basin Team Meeting Notes

DRAFT Green-Tradewater River Basin Team Meeting Notes Henderson, KY April 22, 2008

Attendees: Alanna Storey (WKU-CWRS), Bobby Gish HWU), Chris Ragan (KDOA), Dale Reynolds (KDOW), Dana Wood HWU), Darwin Newton (WKU), Jana Fattic (WKU- CWRS), John Baker HWU), Karla Andrew (WKU-CWRS), Ken Ferry HWU), Kevin Roberts HWU), Kyle Thompson (WKU-CWRS), Helen Baker HWU), Morris Lee (Alcan), Scott VanderPloeg (Madisonville CC).

Brief introduction to the Green-Tradewater River Basin Team (RBT), Basin Coordinator functions, Basin Status Report

Brief rundown of CWRS programs and services

1. Technical Assistance for Small Drinking Water Systems 2. Kentucky Center for Wastewater Research 3. Kentucky Institute for Watershed Management Support 4. Water and Wastewater Technician’s Training Institute which will broaden into. A Energy Efficiency B. Watershed Management Training C. Stormwater Management

CWRS is to be KY DOW’s “back office” to provide technical assistance for River Basin Team projects and members. Most of this will be done through an interactive website. The initial goal is to update the Green and Tradewater Basin Status Report by creating a document that is constantly updated. Visit http://www.waterky.org/ and click on the “books” tab near the top of the page.

Last River Basin Status Report (2001) . Brief description of last report was given, plus web links where both the 2001 report and the current “work-in-progress” can be found.

Comments by speakers: . John Baker spoke about the creation and implementation of Phase II Stormwater regulations. Henderson was designated as a community and county that fell under the new regulations. They were required by these regulations to develop and implement a comprehensive stormwater management program that address the 6 minimum control measures established by the EPA. WKU assisted with inventorying approximately 1600 outfalls to Canoe Creek noting coordinates, appearance, odors, etc. Henderson Water Utilities is systematically investigating all known and suspected illicit discharges. It was noted that illicit discharge ordinances are scheduled to be revised, along with other portions of the sewer use ordinance. . Bobby Gish talked about the consent judgment the State of Kentucky and Henderson Water Utility reached, to address combined sewer overflows. These wet weather releases have plagued the utility for the last 12 years and progress is being made to eliminate them, with a projected completion in the next ten years. Over 50% of the combined sewer service area has been separated by projects to date. The remaining area and associated projects become more difficult to address. One fact that makes Henderson’s CSO problem more difficult to solve is the fact that all of the lines are pressurized. The lack of significant elevation changes precludes gravity flow sewers. . Kevin Roberts informed the group about issues and concerns related to operating water treatment plants to supply the city, county, and some surrounding areas with drinking water. He specifically addressed the South Water Treatment Plant, which has its intake located at Mile Point 41.3 on the Green River. The plant is designed for a maximum capacity of 4 million gallons per day (MGD) and is running at near capacity on a daily basis. Their raw water sampling indicates that water quality in the Green River has deteriorated over the last few years, causing numerous adjustments to their treatment process to compensate. This has increased the difficulty of plant operation and increased the cost of operation. Concentrations of inorganics, nitrogen, ammonia, pathogens, and algae concentrations in the Green River have all increased during the last 2-5 years. Last spring, a bloom of Synedra algae (believed to have been caused by animal waste that was applied to frozen ground and later flushed by stormwater into the river) struck the plant unexpectedly and coated the filters temporarily shutting the plant down. HWU networks with other drinking water utilities along the Green River to keep each other informed of what is coming downstream and what is being done about it. . Darwin Newton reported that agricultural operating costs are increasing, mainly due to increasing fuel costs. Petroleum cost increases have also impacted the price of fertilizers, which have increased dramatically since last year. Since 1985 the push has been to conservation tillage, with no till agriculture emerging as the preferred method due to better environmental outcomes and reduced demand on equipment and thereby reduced fuel usage. Increased fuel costs have also spurred the production of biofuels, mainly ethanol from corn. This has increased the demand for corn has increased the price and production of corn. It was implied that increased demand for biofuels could result in requests to release of conservation practices acreage currently under federal contracts. He felt that since 1 ton of poultry litter yields 40 pounds of both Nitrogen and Phosphorous, there could be an increase in its application, since it is cheaper than fertilizers. He also spoke of a need to save farmland from development through landuse planning by communities/counties. Finally, he mentioned the need to address the rehabilitation of NRCS dams.

Following the presentations, the attendees broke into discussion groups by table and came up with the following area of concern:

Table 1 1. Henderson’s MS4 program has been established and some ordinances have been passed that help to regulate stormwater discharges, but more remains to be done to control quantity and quality of stormwater runoff. 2. Steps need to be taken locally and statewide to step up regulations pertaining to septic systems. Currently only construction of septic systems is regulated, but each system is a ticking time bomb. There needs to be operation and maintenance oversight by some agency to insure that systems are regularly cleaned and inspected. 3. Grey water needs to be recognized as a separate waste stream and recycled on site.

Table 2 1. Additional regulation of chicken waste disposal is needed to prevent dumping in large piles on fields. 2. Water treatment systems need relief from Crypto Giardia testing. The pathogen threshold is too low, especially for rural areas. 3. Aging water and waste water infrastructure upgrades is a crisis that needs to be addressed on a statewide and federal level.